Wayward's Children
by freelikedobby
Summary: Arabella Eaton's childhood has been full of abuse, violence, and sorrow. But three years after her brother transfers, she is ready to make her choice. Newly christened "Ella", she is joined by Tris, Tobias, and a boy named Avery who will make Ella question whether she is ready to place her trust in someone new. Rated M for some abusive/violent scenes.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Most rights go to Veronica Roth, but some of the characters I own. Otherwise, nothing else belongs to me. I also have used a lot of direct quotes and lines that were in the books _Four_ and _Divergent_ , so if you see a line that looks like one from those books, that is what they are and I don't own them. :)**

 **PROLOGUE / ARABELLA POV**

 _Breathe in._ I suck in a sharp burst of stale air. _Breathe out._ A shaky gasp rattles from my lungs and out my mouth.

I lift my head up from one of the school books resting on my simple plywood desk. I hear the familiar sound of soft footsteps ascending the stairs and prodding down the narrow gray hallway. A soft knock on my bedroom door wakes me up from my daydream.

"Come in," I whisper, even though I know that he will come in anyway. A familiar face peers around the doorframe, the only face I've learned to trust these 12 years that I've been alive.

"Hi, Ella." My brother enters the room and wraps his arms around me, even though I am still seated at my desk. I stand up and wrap my arms around his waist.

"Hi, Tobias," I whisper into his shirt, against his chest. This is where I feel the most comfortable, here, wrapped in my brother's embrace. We stay like that for a while, before Tobias speaks.

"I need to go, otherwise Dad will hear us," Tobias murmurs, and slowly loosens his grip on my waist.

"Yeah. But we'll talk later, right?"

"Of course we will, when have we not?" I pick up his school bag that he dropped at the foot of my bed earlier and hand it to him. Tobias manages a small smile of thanks, and he walks over to the exit of my bedroom, jiggles the doorknob silently, and with a swish of his baggy, grey clothing, he is gone.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

"This is _rank_ with self-indulgence!" Marcus's voice echoes through the wall that separates my brother's bedroom from mine. Oh, no. Oh my God. He found the trunk.

I bite my lip; I bite it so hard that I can taste a little blood. I shiver at that thought. _Ugh, blood. I hate blood._

I think of what Tobias must be feeling. That was basically like our mother's passing gift to us. All of the objects locked away in that trunk mean the world to my brother, and I can't bear to think of what he must be feeling now.

"The Choosing Ceremony, Dad!" Tobias chokes on the words on their way out of his mouth, and I could hear the notes of fear in his voice.

I don't even know how my brother still manages to call him "dad", because how could that monster possibly be a father, to me, to us, to anyone? He'll always be Marcus to me, the person who couldn't provide me and my brother with even a semi-normal childhood.

My brother's muffled screams fill the house. I feel a fire of rage build inside of me, threatening to turn everything in my path to smoke and ash. I have to go help Tobias, I need to. I can't let Marcus beat him up anymore. He can hurt me, but not him.

I storm out of my room and burst into his bedroom. I see Tobias leaning against the dresser in the corner, his eyes spilling over with tears. I see Marcus with his belt, standing over my brother. He raises his belt once more, and I take that as my cue.

I sprint over in front of Tobias and shout, "NO!"

The belt hits my back and I scream in pain, but I remind myself that I can't let the belt hit my brother tonight. The fabric comes searing down on my back again, and I scream once more. Then Marcus punches me in the jaw, hard, and I fall to the ground, Tobias unprotected once more. I find the strength to haul myself off the floor, and I spread my arms and body over my brother's shaking figure.

"LEAVE!" I yell. Tobias wraps his arms around me and presses his face into the crook of my neck, and I can feel tears dripping onto my shirt.

"Please, just leave. You can punish me tomorrow. Just go."

Marcus looks astounded, and I feel a hint of pride deep within me, knowing that I put that expression on his face. The belt slams into my back one last time, just for good measure, and I cry out in pain. Then he storms out of the room, and he slams the door so hard that I thought for a second that it would fall of the hinges of the doorframe.

I turn and release a loud sob into my brother's shirt. I will never let Marcus see this side of me, the side that's hurting and broken, but I couldn't care less what Tobias sees inside of me. I know that he will always be there for me, and I will always be there for him, too.

"Why did you do that?" Tobias whispers. He uses the dresser to pull himself up using shaky legs, and then offers me his hand.

"Do what?" I accept his hand with trembling fingers and he pulls me to my feet. I wipe tears from my eyes. My jaw aches and my back stings.

"You know what I mean." Tobias looks at me with his beautiful blue eyes, a dreaming, sleeping, waiting kind of color.

"What, come in here and tell him to leave?"

"And take a beating for me!"

"We both know that they're has been worse punishments than that."

Tobias winces. He's probably thinking about being trapped in the closet for hours on end. One time, Marcus even left us in there overnight. At least Tobias and I were together.

He pulls me into another hug. This embrace brings tears to my eyes, just because the Choosing Ceremony is tomorrow, and I know that he is torn between leaving and staying, and I know what I am going to make him do.

"Thanks you," he whispers.

"This is what I'm here for," I reply.

He leads me into the small bathroom that we share that has two doors on either side, one that leads into my bedroom, and the door that we just came through leads into his. Tobias grabs a small towel and sticks it under the faucet. We don't do this for sanitary purposes, we do it because it numbs our backs, even if only for a little bit. While the towel is soaking, Tobias pulls off his shirt. I blush a little, but only because of this lifestyle that I have grown up living in. I have seen my brother shirtless multiple times.

"You first," he says.

"No," I insist. "You." He rolls his eyes playfully, but he knows that you can't argue with me once I've made up my mind.

He hands me the towel and kneels down, his back facing towards me. I drape the towel over his scarred back and he flinches. I hold his hand with one of my hands and with my other hand I slowly move the towel over his back, dripping cold water on the waistband of his pants. After his back is cleaned up as best as I could get, I wipe the water off with a dry towel.

"Thanks," he mumbles. I give him a small smile in response.

"Your turn," He says, after pulling his shirt back over his head.

A blush creeps into my face and spreads over my cheeks. It's not like my brother hasn't seen me without a shirt before, but I still get embarrassed whenever I have to undress.

I turn away from Tobias and kneel down. I tug my shirt off and over my head, and I pull my long, brown hair over my shoulder. Tobias's hand touches the middle of my back, where a clasp lays still. His fingers move against my back underneath the fabric, and when I don't protest he unclasps the pieces of fabric and lets the gray cloth slide off my shoulders and fall into my lap.

My peachy tinged face turns bright red, even though I have done this many times before. I guess it's just the fact that I'm 12 now, and I didn't care as much about what I looked like when I was younger. I have a small chest that will continue to grow over time, and what I look like doesn't matter in Abnegation anyway.

He rubs the cold cloth back and forth across the jagged stripes that lay patterned across my back, and when he is finished he dries off my back with the same towel that I used on him.

As I pull a pair of grey straps back over my shoulder, he clasps the fabric together once more across my back, and I lift my arms up to allow him to slide the sleeves of my giant shirt over my arms.

"Is your jaw okay? He hit you pretty hard."

"Yeah. It's fine." Tobias runs his thumb over the still-forming bruise, and I press the side of my face into the palm of his hand.

"See you in five?" I say.

"Of course," he says, and I smile.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

Five minutes later, Tobias and I are back in the bathroom, with the doors closed and the lights turned off. We have been meeting like this every night ever since our mother died, and we turn off the lights to avoid being discovered by Marcus, as he thinks that we are in bed, asleep. Sometimes we talk, but sometimes we just lean against each other, enjoying one another's company. Tonight, though, we need to talk.

"Tobias," I whisper, penetrating the darkness.

"Yes?" His hand finds mine, and he grasps it tightly. "What is it?"

"I need to talk to you about tomorrow." I lean my head against his shoulder, and together we lean back against the bathroom cabinets, our butts resting against the cold tile floor.

He is silent for a minute before speaking.

"Listen, I'm not going to leave you here, I just can't do that, Ella!"

"Yes Tobias, you can. If you stay here you're going to waste your life away! You _are_ going to transfer factions to get away from Marcus, I _am_ going to survive the next four years and then I'm going to come join you in whatever faction you choose, and I don't care what faction it is as long as you're in it!" Tobias is silent once more.

"My test results were Abnegation," he whispers. "I don't know if I can leave."

"Who cares about some stupid test? The test shouldn't tell you want to do. You should. Or in this case, I'm telling you what to do." I hear him laugh a little after the last sentence, and my spirits lift just a little.

"Are you sure about this, Ella? I don't want to leave you here."

"I'm positive," I say.

"You'd better be, because the choice that I make tomorrow is irreversible. Whatever I do tomorrow, you basically have to do, too. And I don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do." The palm of his hand begins to sweat in mine and I adjust my grip.

We are both quiet, letting the faint whistle of the trains roaring down the tracks consume us. I nestle my head deeper into the crook of his neck, and he sighs.

"I love you. No matter what," I murmur.

"I love you too, Arabella. Be brave." He kisses my forehead and I kiss his cheek and then we part our separate ways.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

As I lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling that I cannot see, I think about the future. What if Tobias chooses a faction that he's not happy in? What if he fails initiation and becomes factionless? Then I will have nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. And, the question that troubles me the most - what if Tobias was lying to me tonight and chooses Abnegation tomorrow instead of transferring?

The slight numbness of my back has faded and now all I feel is a dull, yet sharp pain traveling in waves throughout my body. I think that the pain is reminding me to be brave, like my brother said, and to remind me that I can survive these next four years, and that I will survive.

I roll over on my side, and even though my eyes are closed, my mind is open; wide awake and plagued with nightmares.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

I twirl a finger absentmindedly around a lock of hair. I cut it this morning, as today was hair-cutting day. Marcus cut my brother's hair, but since my mother is dead, I've had to do it by myself these past four years. Before, Marcus used to cut my hair, but as I've gotten older I've been doing it myself. I prefer not to rely on anyone, especially not _him._

I keep my eyes on my brother, who is standing between an Abnegation boy and an Amity girl. I am very aware of Marcus's presence, sitting right next to me. I shift away from him, but I don't want other people to notice, so I do it a millimeter at a time.

A Dauntless man named Max is giving the speech this year at the Choosing, and I am partly grateful for that because then Tobias doesn't have to look at him when he transfers. But, when he doesn't give the speech that means that I have to sit with him. Is it selfish of me to have those thoughts? I'm not sure anymore.

"Eaton, Tobias."

I see my brother walk up to the aisle and positions himself in front of the bowls that will determine our lives. Max hands him a new knife, and he takes it and holds it out to cut his hand. I see him look over to the Dauntless section, and in that moment I think I know what choice he's going to make.

Tobias holds his hand out over the steaming hot coals, and I see a drop of blood drip from the palm of his hand, and the soft sizzle of the blood roasting on the coals fills the room.

He is free. And I am happy for him.

After the last person has chosen, the Dauntless get up to leave. I see Tobias look over at Marcus, who wears a stunned expression on his face. I see my brother smirk, and I smile a little. Then he looks over to me.

The moment our eyes meet is like a symphony exploding into song, beginning and ending all at once. His blue eyes meet my green ones, and I can feel the tears gathering, threatening to spill over.

" _I love you,_ " I mouth.

" _I love you, too,_ " he mouths back. I manage a small smile and wave a hand to send him on his way. He turns and runs to catch up with the other transfers, and I smile and leave my hand raised in the air until Marcus taps my shoulder and tells me that we are leaving. I know that when I get home, he will beat me because of Tobias transferring today. But I don't care.

Someday, I will leave this place and join my brother. Someday, I will come to realize that all of this violence has shaped me into the person that I was always meant to be.

Someday.

But for now, I wave in the direction of the Dauntless compound; a bittersweet goodbye, and an ode to the only person I have ever loved.

 **A/N: Hey guys! This is my new Divergent story, and it's about what I think would've happened if Tobias had a little sister, as I'm sure you can tell :)**

 **Some info about this story:**

 **\- The chapters will all be 2,500 words or more as this chapter is over 3,000 words (about the chapter size of a novel and yes I did Google it haha)**

 **\- I will publish a chapter every time someone new follows or favorites this story or Blue's story The Sister's Glass, and/or if someone follows and favorites this account.**

 **\- If this story becomes popular and this account gains lots of followers, then I will probably start a posting schedule, but let's just see how far this story goes!**

 **\- This story is called Wayward's Children (obviously), and I named it that because the word "wayward" means difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior. That reminded me of a Divergent in a way, so that's why that word is in the title!**

 **\- School literally just started for me today (smh) so if I post inconsistently then I am just stressed out from homework, or this account/story hasn't gained any publicity.**

 **Aaaand that's all the info that I can think of at the moment! Also, please go check out the other story posted on this account, The Sister's Glass, which is written by my friend Blue with me being her beta.**

 **Dang this is getting long, so sorry! The future author's notes won't be this long. I'll wrap it up.**

 **Beta creds: Blue (other owner of freelikedobby) and Lyra (owner of lyrqmlfoy).**

 **Thank you so much for reading! Ily all!**

 **~ Faith :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: please see the beginning of the prologue :)**

 **CHAPTER ONE / ARABELLA POV**

 **Three years later….**

I sit at a long table in the cafeteria with other fifteen year olds, all cloaked in various shades of grey. Erudite convinced Abnegation to change the age, so now we take our aptitude test at fifteen instead of sixteen. This is a new trial, it just began this year. I don't know why they changed the rule, but I'm sure that there is a reason for it.

My gaze shifts from the Amity girls who are playing a hand-clapping game, to the Erudite who are reading newspapers. Behind me, I can hear some Candor boys arguing and laughing about God knows what. The people around me sit and wait silently, and I yearn to be like the Dauntless, laughing and sitting on the tables, leaving trails of havoc and destruction.

After tomorrow, I will be Dauntless, and the wait is killing me. I haven't seen Tobias in three years, and I try to contain my excitement. I wonder if he feels the same way.

When I transfer tomorrow, I won't be the first, or the second. Last year, a girl transferred to Dauntless. Her name was Beatrice Prior. I wonder if my brother knows her.

"From Abnegation: Arabella Eaton and Faith Lisette."

I rise from my seat and walk outside, and then I head into one of the rooms, where a Dauntless woman is waiting for me.

She appears to be very young, and when she looks at me, we look eye to eye. We are the same height. The woman has greyish-blue eyes, and long, blonde hair. I see three ravens tattooed on her collarbone, and I wonder what it symbolizes.

Then my eyes turn to the chair placed in the middle of the room.

I don't even know if you can describe the thing as a chair. It is a monstrosity of metal, reclined backwards so anyone sitting in it is basically lying down.

"It's okay," the woman says. "It won't hurt." I cautiously make my way over to the chair and tentatively sit down, swinging my legs over the side, although I remain sitting up.

The woman smiles at me. "You can lay back. My name is Tris."

"Arabella," I say as I lean back in the chair.

"I know," she replies, and I frown, confused. How would she know who I was? I bite my tongue to keep from asking too many questions, so instead I just stay silent.

Tris hands me a small vial filled with a clear liquid. I already know what it is, because Marcus "prepared" me for the aptitude test.

"Not scared?" Tris asks.

"No," I reply, even though my hands are shaking slightly. I am worried about the test will tell me, even though I already know what I will choose tomorrow.

Tris sees my hands, and smiles a little. "You're brave. I think you'd do well in Dauntless."

I want to smile back, but I can't. Instead, I tip the contents of the vial into my mouth, swallow, and close my eyes.

I open my eyes. I am in the school cafeteria once more, but there are no tables, and no people, and it's snowing outside. I turn around and jump backwards slightly when I hear a woman's voice booms: "Choose."

Two baskets appear in front of me, one with cheese and one with a knife. I spin around in a circle, hoping to find the source of the voice, but I see no trace of anyone.

"Why?" I demand.

"Choose," she repeats.

"Why?" I demand again.

"CHOOSE!" she yells, and I cover my ears. But instead of choosing, I lunge for the knife and simultaneously kick over the basket with the cheese, and grab the cheese after it has fallen to the ground.

"Now what?" I scream, in hopes that the woman will answer me this time. But, alas, there is no response. I pocket the cheese and keep the knife in my hand, slowly turning in circles as the baskets disappear. Suddenly, I hear a door squeak and I whip my head around just in time to see a dog with a pointed nose emerge, growling.

I consider my options quickly: run, fight, or stay.

If I run, the dog will easily outrun me, and that would be bad for me.

If I fight, then I would potentially have to kill the dog, and I don't want to do that.

So that leaves me with my third option; stay.

The dog comes charging at me and I kneel just before it and hold my hand out for it to smell. I close my eyes and wait.

The growling stops. I feel something wet lick my hand. I open my eyes and I see it rolling around on the ground, wanting to be pet. I run my hand over the length of the dog's body, and I laugh. I take out the cheese, break it in half, and give it a piece. The dog munches on it happily.

I look up, and I see a small child standing across the room, in a white dress.

"Ooh, puppy!" she squeals.

I smile at the girl, and turn back to the dog, but the dog has long since moved on from the cheese that I gave him, and now is focused on the girl, snarling and pacing back and forth. The little girl starts to walk towards the dog, and I can see the dog's muscles coiling up like barbed wire, about to jump.

"No!" I shriek, and without thinking I throw the knife so that it grazes the dog's side.

The dog collapses to the ground, whimpering. The girl turns and flees, crying. I run to the dog, and see the blood pooling from the cut.

"Oh, no. No, no, no…." I tear a strip of grey fabric from my dress and press it to the wound. I feel tears gathering in my eyes, and I blink and let them fall. The dog whimpers again, and I throw the bloody knife across the room. I can't bear to look at it anymore. I give the dog the other half of the cheese. It nudges it with its nose, but doesn't eat it.

I let out a sob, and close my eyes.

 _This isn't real._

When I open them, the dog is gone, and I am standing on a bus, and all the seats are occupied. I grip a pole on the bus tightly and sway back and forth as the bus is moving.

"Do you know this guy?" a man asks me. I turn and see a pair of scarred hands grasping a newspaper with the words printed on the front: "Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!" Below the title, there is a picture of a young man with a beard and a familiar looking face. I feel like I know him, but I can't say for sure.

"I…. I don't know. I feel like I do, though…." I trail off, my mind muddled with thoughts about where I might have seen this man before.

"I need a yes or a not answer, girl. Yes or no?" He peers over the newspaper, and I see that his face is covered with scars and burns, just like his hands. I wonder what he went through to earn the satisfaction of survival.

"I don't know," I respond. I look him straight in the eyes.

"You're lying," he snarls at me.

"No, I'm not." I snap back.

"I can see it in your eyes." He grips my shoulders hard, and shakes me back and forth.

 _This isn't real._

I punch him in the jaw, and he howls. I turn and run towards the exit of the bus, kick the doors open, and jump. I fall forward and roll a couple feet forward.

When I look up, I see that I am in an Amity orchard. I stand and breathe in the sweet smelling air. Suddenly, I hear a high-pitched scream coming from one of the trees. I whip my head around to see two bright flashes of red and yellow stuck in an unstable, old tree, one boy and one girl.

"HELP!" they shriek, and I can see their arms trembling from the weight of holding up their bodies. I sprint over to the base of the tree and start to climb. The little girl reaches for me, and I grab her around the waist and help her down the tree.

Once she is safely on the ground, I start to climb the tree again, where the little boy is still screaming. He is higher than the girl, so this rescue will be a little harder. I climb as the leaves brush my face, leaving small, stinging cuts.

I finally reach the boy, and hold out a hand. He grasps it tightly, and together we make our way back down the tree. The branches are like a ladder, and I move as fast as I can, because I can feel the tree swaying underneath me.

Without warning, the tree gives a violent shake, shaking the little boy and I so we are hanging from the tree like a set of monkey bars.

The little girl starts to cry at the sight of her friend hanging from the tree, and so I do the first thing that pops into my head. I shout, "Jump!" at the little boy. The girl holds out her arms, and the boy jumps. They crash to the ground, but luckily, none of them are hurt severely.

I let out a sigh of relief as the tree gives another violent shake. I cling to the branches as the tree continues to shake.

"Run!" I shout to the kids, and they take of running in the other direction.

The tree shakes again, and now it is my turn to let out a scream as the tree leaves me hanging by just my fingertips.

 _This isn't real._

The tree starts to fall, and I close my eyes as the ground rushes up to meet me. An intense pain overtakes my body, and I wake up.

I shoot up in the chair. I am back in the room with Tris. I put my head in my hands, and Tris removes the electrodes from her head, and comes over to do the same with me.

When her fingers brush my head, I flinch and pull back. She places a hand on my shoulder and says, "I'll be right back, okay? Wait here." I nod my head as she exits the room.

I put my face in my hands. I feel like I did something wrong, but I don't know what. How can you fail a test you aren't allowed to prepare for?

After a couple minutes she comes back and sits in a chair beside mine. I fidget nervously, even though I feel safer here, with Tris, then back in the cold, grey house that houses eons of secrets waiting to shared.

"Arabella, your results were inconclusive," she says, and I stiffen. "Typically each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case…."

All I can do is stare. I don't understand this. What did I do wrong?

"If you automatically went for the cheese and not the knife, then the simulation would have led you to a different simulation that confirmed your aptitude for Amity. If you automatically went for the knife, then the simulation would have led you to a different simulation that confirmed your aptitude for Dauntless. But, you took both the cheese and the knife."

I realize that I am not the only one that looks scared. Tris is very pale, paler than before the test. She is nervous for me. I don't know what to make of that.

"By grabbing the knife you confirmed aptitude for Dauntless, but you also grabbed the cheese, which is an Amity response. By taking both, you manipulated the simulation, and to do that you would have to figure out how, which an Erudite could potentially do. When you didn't run from the dog, that indicates Dauntless, and throwing the knife at the dog indicates Dauntless as well. But, you gave the dog the cheese after you wounded it, and you started to cry, which indicates Amity."

I blush and look away. During the simulation, I briefly forgot that Tris was watching me.

"Hey, don't feel bad. That shows that you have a heart," Tris says. I look at her and she smiles. One of the knots loosens in my chest. I feel like I can trust this person, even though I don't know why.

"Then I altered the simulation to go to the bus. You did tell the man the truth, which shows that you have aptitude for Candor, and Abnegation, because the Abnegation tell the truth as well. Your results were still inconclusive at that point, so I had to alter the simulation even further to place you in one of the the Amity orchards. When you went to save those kids, that confirmed your aptitude for Abnegation and Dauntless."

I look at her expectantly. "So…. what were my results?"

Tris bites her lip before choosing how to voice her next sentence. "You display equal aptitude for Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Candor."

I am speechless. Tris looks scared, like an axe-murderer could burst into the room at any minute.

"They call it Divergent," Tris whispers. "Under no circumstances should you tell anyone this information, ever."

 _What am I supposed to tell Marcus? He's going to want to know what my results were._ I peel my eyes away from Tris's and look down. When I look back up, she looks like she knows exactly what I am thinking, but she just stands up.

"I think that you should probably head home. You have a difficult choice to make." Tris rises from her chair and positions it back behind the computer where she controls the simulation from. Little does she know, my choice was already pre-made for me three years ago.

"Okay." I rise from the metal chair and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. As I turn the doorknob and am about to slip out the door, I turn around.

"Thank you." I say.

Tris smiles. "You're welcome." I turn and walk out the door, not looking back.

 **A/N: Hi again! Hope you liked this chapter!**

 **Special thanks to rose1112 for making it possible to post this chapter!**

 **Please keep reviewing, favoriting, and following!**

 **~ Faith :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: please see the beginning of the prologue :)**

CHAPTER TWO / ARABELLA POV

I walk home silently. Even though my test results won't changed what choice I make tomorrow, I still feel concerned for my own safety. Why is it dangerous to be Divergent?

When I walk in the door, Marcus is sitting in the easy chair in the living room, and he points to the couch opposite him, and I take a seat, knowing it would be wise not to refuse his orders. Only one more day of this curfew, and then I will be free.

Marcus leans forward. "Tell me about your aptitude test. What was your result?"

"Abnegation." I say. He looks at me.

"And nothing else?"

I bite my lip and reason with myself. If I tell him that I am not Divergent, then he will know that I am lying and give me a beating. If I tell him that I tested positive for all five factions, then he will think that I am lying and give me a beating. Either way, I'll get a beating. I just don't know which beating might be worse. It all depends on which lie I choose to tell. I deicide to tell him a small, white lie.

Marcus's eyes burn holes in my skin.

"And Dauntless," I whisper, faking fear.

"Dauntless?" he yells. "Did I raise my child to be one of those hellions?"

I am tempted to say that any man who beats his own children is a hellion himself, but I bite my tongue and keep silent.

"No," I reply, and I look away. He leans over and grips me, hard.

"You know what to choose tomorrow." Marcus releases his fingers from my arm, and I see a red mark in the shape of a hand wrapping around my forearm like a demon.

"Yes, I do," I say. I turn and head upstairs.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

A loud knock on my door startles me and I shoot up and out of bed. I rush over to the door and open it to see Marcus staring over me. Even though I would've been a tall person, I am not as tall as I probably would've been because I was malnourished as a child. Sometimes I would go to bed hungry for days in a row because I was too scared to go downstairs and get something to eat. Tobias was the one who finally snuck food up to my bedroom and he was the one who made me eat. Marcus didn't care about me.

"What were you doing?" he asks accusingly. I clutch the hem of my shirt.

I don't know what to say, so I just tell him the truth. What does he want to know?

"I was, um, I was taking a nap," I say.

"WHAT?" he roars, and I shrink a little. "Why were you sleeping? That is self-indulgence!"

Oh. He wants an excuse to hurt me.

"I was sleeping because I didn't sleep at all last night. Want to know why? Because you beat me so hard I could barely get into my bed!"

Marcus's eyes spit fire at me, but instead of burning, I feel like a phoenix, rising from the ashes.

"I'm going to beat you so hard that you can't get into your bed," Marcus retaliates. And with that, he slides his belt out of the loops on his pants and throws me onto the floor of my bedroom.

I shudder; this will probably the worst beating that I have ever received.

Marcus grabs my back and tears my shirt in half with rage. My mind goes crazy, like ping pong balls bouncing back and forth constantly. He's never beaten me with a bare back before.

I am filled with anger; the only person that has ever seen me shirtless is Tobias, and I wanted to keep it that way.

He tears off the remaining clothes from my back so that I am naked from the waist up. I blush, but I also scream. I yell and thrash under his grip, but he pins me down so my stomach is pressed against the floor, and I feel leather clash against skin.

I scream, and he hits again, harder. I stretch out my arm to grab my ripped shirt from across the floor and I shove it in my mouth so that I don't have to use my fist. He hits again, and I cry into my mouth, saliva coating my shirt.

I close my eyes, and for the first time in three years, I am worried that I won't be able to survive without Tobias.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

I am two years old. I remember all of the Abnegation faction members standing around me, mourning. I don't understand. All I remember was the feeling of my mother brushing strands of my chocolate colored hair behind my ear the day before.

I am four years old. I remember Tobias screaming and not understanding why he was in pain, as he was with Marcus, because why would a father hurt their child?

I am six years old. I remember the first time that Marcus locked my brother and I in a closet. Tobias and I were so scared that we cried the whole night and never closed our eyes.

I am eight years old. I remember when I received my first "real" beating. Marcus beat me with his belt until I couldn't speak. Tobias was the one who found me lying on the floor.

I am ten years old. I remember the first time that Marcus burned me. I still have the scar on my stomach.

I am twelve years old. I remember my last night with Tobias, and how I had made him leave, and how I promised that I would join him one day. My act of courage that night had been a turning point in my life.

I am fourteen years old. I remember walking down an alley where a factionless woman was waiting for me. She tried to take my school bag off my back, forcefully, and I remember hitting her, just like Marcus always hit me. I went home that night and cried myself to sleep, afraid that I was becoming a monster.

Now I am 15, and nothing much has changed.

My eyes open. I lay curled up on the cold floor of my grey bedroom, pain consuming my body. My torn clothing is scattered around me, and my back is throbbing horribly.

At one point during the beating session, I tried to get up and fight back, but that only resulted in a slap from the belt across my stomach, and after that I collapsed to the floor, winded.

Marcus is long gone, and the only light in the house is coming from a sliver of moonlight slicing through the tiny, square window placed in one of the pale walls of my bedroom.

I need to try to get up.

My arms push my bare torso a couple inches off the ground before my hands give way and I tumble to the floor once more. I let out a small sob.

You're not allowed to cry, Arabella.

I summon whatever strength I can find within me, and I slowly peel myself from the ground. My legs shake as I stumble over to my small dresser to pull out a shirt to wear. I wince as I lift my arms above my head to slide the shirt over my aching stomach. My head throbs, and I collapse on my bed, not even bothering to pull the sheets over me.

I force my eyes shut and will myself to sleep.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

I am standing in the same spot where my brother stood three years ago.

I can feel Marcus's anger radiating off him and scorching my skin, and I internally flinch as memories flood back from last night. My back feels like it was beaten raw, and honestly, it probably is. I didn't bother to check.

The itchy fabric of my clothing scratches at my skin, making me feel like I wanted to jump in a large body of water and have the waves wash over me, giving me temporary relief from my pain.

A Erudite boy next to me is talking to another Erudite, a girl. They are laughing and making fun of everybody around them. I automatically disapprove, and know that I wouldn't want to be friends with people like them. Not that I've ever actually had any friends other than Tobias, of course. But I don't think he really counts because he's my brother.

I focus my attention forward as Jack Kang, the leader of Candor, takes the stage.

A hush falls over the room, and I look up as Jack starts to speak.

"Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony," Jack says. "Today is where the young adults in our society will make a choice that will determine where they will be the rest of their lives."

I can almost feel Marcus roll his eyes at such a typical Candor speech. Telling the truth, just the way it is, no sugarcoating. Marcus prefers to keep his secrets hidden, and so do I. I clench my fists at the thought of sharing a trait with that monster. I force myself to turn my attention back to what Jack is saying.

"Fraser, Isabelle." Jack's loud voice fills up the room. The Erudite girl who was laughing at me earlier walks up and takes her place in front of the five bowls. She slices her hand and holds it out over the Dauntless bowl.

A collective hush fills the room. Isabelle goes to sit in the front row of the Dauntless section and I focus my attention back towards the center of the room.

I run after Tris and I stand next to her on one of the many train platforms placed all over the city. Jack call the next name. "Fraser, Jackson."

An Erudite boy strides up to the front of the room. I see him look over at Isabelle, and nods at him. They must be siblings, I think to myself as he slices his palm and lets his blood drip over the Dauntless bowl. He walks over to join his sister and she embraces him and they both sit down.

The Erudite start talking and Jack yells, "Quiet down, please!" The Erudite's talking dwindles down quietly, and Jack continues, "Eaton, Arabella."

I can feel millions of pairs of eyes staring at me as I make my way up to the five giant bowls placed in the middle of the room. Jack hands me a clean knife, and I slice the palm of my hand, the sting barely egen registering in my mind.

I look back at Marcus and he nods, like he thinks that I will choose Abnegation out of fear. I laugh silently. I may be afraid of him, but I am not a coward.

I can feel the blood pooling in my hand, and I let it drip over the steaming black coals. A soft hissing sound fills the room and I can feel a murmur rise from the Abnegation section, starting off soft but getting louder and louder.

"Quiet!" Jack yells once more. Even though I had pictured this day in my mind for the past three years, my hands still shake as I walk over to the Dauntless section. The people clothed in black cheer at my choice and offer me a seat. I take it and find that I am sitting next to the woman who ran my aptitude test. Tris.

"Told you you'd do well in Dauntless," she whispers to me, and she hands me a small bandage for the small wound in my hand. I accept it and wrap it around my hand.

I sneak a glance at Marcus. He wears a stunned expression, like he didn't think that I would have the courage to transfer. I smirk, but I try to hide it. I feel proud, an emotion I've never really felt before.

"Yeah, maybe I will," I reply. I give Tris a small smile.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

The Dauntless move like different parts of a body, all doing different things but somehow fitting together and working as one.

I find that I am not a bad runner for someone who was not technically allowed to run in Abnegation. I strip the outer layer of my clothing and am left in the same pants and a darker grey shirt that blends in better with the Dauntless black. I try to keep up with the others as Tris's friends run up to her and laugh with her as she runs.

As I run faster in attempt to catch up to Tris, I realize that the Dauntless have stopped running. I stand beside Tris and watch as a train comes thundering down the tracks. As the train whooshes past us, the wind whips through my thin shirt and I shiver a little. Everyone starts running alongside the train, and I follow suit and start to jog.

One of the older Dauntless men open one of the doors and people start jumping inside. I catch little snippets of conversations as everyone jumps past me and into the metal cages.

"Come on, Zeke!"

"Uriah, you're a pansycake."

"Really, Shauna? I am not!"

"Yeah, you really are."

"Shut up, Marlene. Hurry up, Lynn!"

"People, I'm coming. Calm down."

I laugh a little. Maybe I will make my first friend in Dauntless. Tris swings herself in one of the last cars and holds out her arm. I grasp it tightly and using our combined strength I find myself sitting on the floor of one of the train cars, the world swaying as I close my eyes. That was exhilarating.

"You good?" Tris asks. I nod mutely in response. Two people that I saw Tris with earlier approach us, and Tris slings her arms around both people.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Trissy?" A tall girl with dark brown skin and short brown hair asks. The boy has celery green eyes and blonde hair.

"Really, Christina? Trissy?" Tris laughs.

"Yeah! In Candor, everyone had nicknames for each other."

"Whatever, Chrissy."

"Ooh, feisty."

Both Tris and Christina laugh again, and the boy looks at them with a smirk.

"Girls," he remarks.

"Oh, shut up Will," Christina replies. She turns to Tris and adds, "Boys," Tris laughs.

Then Christina and Will notice me. I stand up and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants.

"Hi! I'm Christina, and this is my boyfriend Will," Christina says. She holds out a hand for me to shake. I don't really want them to know where I'm from, and not shaking hands would be a telltale sign. I grasp her hand and shake it lightly as I don't like much physical touch.

"What's your name?" Will asks.

I bite my lip. Arabella just doesn't sound right anymore, and I don't want anyone to know that Marcus Eaton is my father.

"Ella," I say with confidence. "My name is Ella."

 **A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated! I've had homework and I haven't had much time with school starting and stuff. I am super excited though because the next chapter will be in Tobias's perspective! YAY! He's such an adorable bean I can't even bahaha anyway!**

 **Special thanks to katara4494 and pr1nce77 for following/favoriting this story!**

 **You are all inspiring, worthy, and brave. Love you all for reading!**

 **~ Faith :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: please see the beginning of the prologue :)**

 **CHAPTER THREE / TOBIAS POV**

I lean slightly on the net as Lauren leans back against the wall. We are waiting for the initiates to take their first leap into the Dauntless compound.

"Who do you think will jump first?" Lauren asks. I shrug.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the Abnegation transfer." I think of Arabella's 12 year old face. I wonder how she looks now, three years later.

"A Stiff? Well, maybe since Tris jumped first last year, but my money's on one of the Dauntless born. Some of them usually sneak in here and take a peak before initiation starts." Lauren replies.

Suddenly I hear a whooshing sound and see a figure drop into the net. I didn't even hear them falI, they didn't even scream or shout. I stride over to the bottom, where I help the initiates down. I see a flash of dark grey, and my heart skips a beat. Is that her? Could it be? Is it really my little sister?

I offer the person my hand, and they grab it and swing themselves over the side of the net, and I grip just underneath their shoulders and place their feet on the ground. I see now that it is a girl.

She turns towards me, and I look directly into her eyes, directly into her soul.

It _is_ her.

Her beautiful green eyes are wide with wonder and strands of her brown hair have escaped the tight bun that was tied at the back of her head. Her cheeks are flushed, her whole body tense and alert. She's grown up, but she'll always be little to me.

Her eyes widen at the sight of me, and I suddenly realize that we shouldn't look like we know each other. That will give our identities away.

"What's your name?" I ask.  
"Ella," she replies, her voice sharp and determined. I like that nickname. It suits her. Gentle and rebellious and kind and brave, all rolled into one, with many other beautiful qualities that I love about my sister.

"First jumper, Ella!" I call out, and the other Dauntless members that are waiting at the bottom of the net cheer loudly and I can see her blush a little. I set my hand on her back just as another initiate comes whooshing down, yelping, and lands into the net. Lauren stretches her hand out and helps the initiate, just as I did.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see flashes of red and yellow. _Amity,_ I think. _I've never had an Amity transfer before._

I push her lightly towards the Dauntless crowd. "Welcome to Dauntless," I lean down and whisper in her ear.

I can almost feel her smiling.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

Once the final initiate has jumped off the roof and is safely plucked from the net, Lauren and I lead them over to a spot in the room where we intend to split them up.

"Dauntless borns, you'll be with Lauren. Transfers, you'll be with me. Go," I address the group and I watch as a clump of black makes their way over to Lauren and follow her down a hallway.

"Most of the time I work in the control room, but during the next few months, I will be you instructor. My name is Four." I can see some of the Candor initiates look at one another because of my name, but nobody has the nerve to make a remark. Good.

"Follow me. I'll give you a brief tour of the place." I gesture for them to follow me, and they do. After showing them the dining hall and the Pit, I lead them over to the dorm.

"This is where you will be sleeping until initiation is over." I walk back over towards the entrance to the room.

"Boys or girls?" an Erudite boy asks.

"Both," I reply. I see Ella's eyes widen. She won't like these arrangements.

"Get changed and meet in the dining hall for dinner," I command.

While everyone is choosing their beds, I beckon for her to walk over here. She strides over and looks at me expectantly.

"There's a bathroom down the hallway. You can take your clothes in there and change," I whisper.

She smiles a shy smile. "Thank you," she murmurs. I smile a tad in response, but I can't show emotion in front of the other initiates.

 _Talk later?_ she mouths. I nod slightly, and she smiles, grabs her clothes, and walks out the door. I turn and walk out after her.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

After dinner is over, Ella follows me back to my apartment. I unlock the door and together we slip inside, careful that nobody notices that she is with me.

"Can I get you anything? Water?" I ask, closing the door soundlessly behind us.

"No, I'm okay for now. But thank you," she replies. Ella slips her new black shoes off and places them by the front door. We walk into my bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed.

I take her hand in mine. I stare at her, and she stares at me, and for a moment we just look at each other, wondering how we survived without the other for three long years.

Suddenly she flings herself at me and wraps her arms around me. She buries her face into my shoulder and lets out a small sob.

"I've missed you," she cries. Not tears, just noises of joy. "Oh, God, I've missed you. So much." I pull her closer to me, so close that she is sitting in my lap, her legs draped over mine perpendicularly.

"I missed you too, Ella." I kiss her head, softly. She gazes up at me with her forest green eyes, almost hazel, just like our mother's eyes. Ella swings her legs off mine and says, "Okay, fill me in on everything that I've missed. You go first, and then I'll do the same to you."

"Okay," I say. "Well, my new name is Four, if you haven't noticed."

"I've noticed," she smirks, "But why? I mean, obviously you don't want to be known as Tobias, but why Four?"

"In the third stage of training, you go through something called a fear landscape. It's where you are placed in a simulation that gives you a visual of all of your fears, and you have to conquer them in some way to end the simulation." She shudders a little, and I hug her. "Don't worry. I'm your instructor, and besides, you'll be fine. You're brave. If you can survive _him,_ then you can easily get through your fear landscape." I see her crack a smile. Oh, how I've missed that grin.

"I set a record - I only have four fears. My instructor came up with that nickname for me." I finish. She smirks again.

"Of course you set a record. You overachiever." I smack her playfully on the arm, and she laughs, her new black clothing standing out against her skin. She looks good in black.

"Can I still call you Tobias when it's just you and me?"

"Of course. I'd like that, actually." She looks happy to hear that.

"Okay, your turn. I'm not going to ask you about your new name, because I gave you that name, didn't I?" She nods. "So, I'll ask you about what happened after I left. Did he still beat you? No, let me rephrase that - of course he still hurt you. Did he beat you more? Harder?"

A moment ago she was bright and full of light. Now, it is almost like something came and sucked the brightness out of her. Her eyes grow wider and wider.

"Tobias…" she whispers. Ella looks down at her lap. I nudge my hand under her chin and lift it up. I feel bad for making her mind bring back bad memories and images, but I have to know. I have to know what he did to her.

"Please," I speak softly, gently, pleadingly. "Just this once."

Ella bites her lip, and turns away from me. For a split second I think that she is going to leave, but then she reaches for the hem of her shirt.

"It's easier for me to show you. It's harder for me to talk, you know?"  
"Of course I know." I cover her hands with my calloused ones and together we lift the fabric over her back and I gasp.

She has scars before, lots of them. But I have never seen this many. I don't even think I have this many marks on my back. I can feel my hatred boiling in a cauldron that rests at the pit of my stomach, threatening to spill over.

Her back is a pattern of jagged lines, cutting into her skin. Some of the marks are red, indicating that she received a beating not long ago. I run my hand over her back, feeling the ridges and bumps.

Ella shifts, and I realize that she is uncomfortable. Even though I'm her brother, she is still extremely wary of physical touch and contact. I help her cover her back with her shirt and she turns around to face me, and I am shocked to see tears in her eyes. Ella almost never shows pain, and when she does show it, it's only ever to me.

I pull her into my chest and she sighs, resting her face against me.

"When did he do this to you?" I ask.

"Last night," Ella replies. "Barebacked," she adds in a low voice.

" _Barebacked?_ " I exclaim in shock. I know the things that Marcus is capable of, but I never dreamed that he would hurt my sister _that_ badly. She's basically still a kid. Who would do that?

"Yeah," she admits. "He also gave me this." Ella pulls away from me and lifts up her shirt so that her pale stomach is exposed. There is a whip mark there, plain as the day, shining bright like a rusted jewel.

"What? He hit you on the stomach?"

"Yeah. It winded me. It hurt to breathe for a little." I hug her again.

"I'm gonna kill him," I say.

"No. Don't." She looks alert now, after what I said. Alarmed. "He doesn't deserve to die. Nobody does." I laugh a little at her statement.

"Not even the person who beat us raw? Who's been beating you since you were _two_?"

"No."

"Ella, sometimes you're a little _too_ nice."

"I don't want you to have to live with the grief. When you kill a person, it leaves a mark that can never be erased. I don't want that to happen to you."

She embraces me again, and once more I am overcome with a sense of warmth. I really missed my sister. I really did. Then she speaks again.

"So, now it's your turn. What-"

Suddenly the door swings open and Tris walks in. Her eyes widen a little when she sees me with Ella, but she recovers and walks towards us a little. I can feel Ella tense in my arms.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you were in here. Hi Ella, remember me?" Tris says.

"Yeah, I know you. You ran my aptitude test." Ella stands up. "But how do you know… Four?"

"Ella, um, this is my girlfriend. Beatrice Prior," Tobias bites his lip and I stare.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY / ELLA POV**

All I can do is stare. My brother has a _girlfriend_?

"Beatrice Prior. You're from Abnegation."

"Yeah. I remember you." Tris walks over to my brother and Tobias stands up. They lace their fingers together, and they look at eachother like there's nobody else in the room.

Except there is.

"Ella, it's okay. She knows," Tobias says.

"You told her about Marcus?" I ask.

"Yes," he says. "So, if you are ever going to date someone, or befriend someone, you can choose one person to tell, because I chose one person to tell. But only one, and you have to trust them with your life. This is a big secret." I nod.

"Do you call him Tobias?" I ask Tris.

"Yeah, I do. But only when we're alone. Otherwise, I call him Four." Tris replies.

My emotions are all jumbled, kind of like someone threw them in a blender and made a gross smoothie.

"Ella, is this okay? Is it okay that we're dating?" Tobias and Tris look at me expectantly.

"Yeah," I reply, and the look on my brother's face is all worth it. He looks so relieved.

"Is this the part where you tell me that if I break his heart then you'll kill me?" Tris asks jokingly.

I laugh and say, "No, because I know that you won't break his heart. You love him."

Tris blushes, and Tobias slings an arm across her narrow shoulders.

"You love me?" he says, faking disbelief.

"Shut up," Tris says. She punches him lightly in the arm in response. I laugh again.

"I hate to break this up, but I should probably go back to the dorm," I say.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Tobias yanks me into another hug and I squeeze him so hard that it hurts.

"See you tomorrow," I wave at Tris and she waves back.

"Goodnight, Ella," she says, and I slip out the door and shut it behind me.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

As I lay in one of the beds in the dorm that night, I think about Tobias, and about Tris. They make each other happy, and honestly, they didn't even need to ask me if they could keep dating. I would've said yes anyway, although I am glad that they did ask.

I wonder if I'll ever date anyone. I wonder if I'll ever make any friends. I wonder what my relationship with Tris will evolve into.

I roll over and face the wall, as I picked the bed that was wedged in the corner. I breathe in the scent of Dauntless, musky and damp and stale, but yet energetic and fun and carefree.

 _If I want to have a good first day of training tomorrow, then I'd better get some sleep,_ I think to myself. I shut my eyes, and for the first time in over three years, sleep comes naturally.

 **A/N: Sorry if this is messy or if there are any errors, I just finished writing this and felt like I had to share, because this story got it's first review the other day! Thank you, guest reviewer, you know who you are. I really appreciate the gesture.**

 **Ooh also, there is a POV change somewhere in the story and it goes from Tobias to Ella, so if you missed that and were confused then that's why.**

 **Please keep reviewing, favoriting, and following!**

 **Thank you for reading! Ily all!**

 **~ Faith :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Please see the beginning of the prologue :)**

 **CHAPTER FOUR / ELLA POV**

The training area is bigger than I expected it to be.

All around us, punching bags hang from the ceiling, their faded black color indicating that they have been punched and kicked by many people. A large chalkboard has all of our names written in alphabetical order.

"Next you will learn how to fight," Tobias says, and all of the transfer initiates gather around him and listen to him speak. "The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenges - which you will need, if you intend to survive life as a Dauntless."

For now, I have to focus in getting through initiation and not being discovered as Divergent. Then I can worry about what I will do in Dauntless if I become a member.

"We will go over technique today, and tomorrow you will start to fight each other. So I recommend that you pay attention. Those who don't learn fast will get hurt." Tobias names a few different punches, against the air first and then against a punching bag. Then it is our turn.

All around me, I can hear the sounds of fists hitting fabric. My fingers are already sore from this morning when we learned how to fire a gun, but the punching makes it worse. My knuckles sting, and they split and start to bleed after a while, but I barely notice. I am an expert at handling pain.

Tobias wanders around and critiques all of the other initiates. When he finally gets to me, his expression softens just a little, but his eyes convey secret messages that only I can understand.

"You have good form, but you don't have that much muscle. You'd be better off using your elbows and knees, because then you can put more power behind them." He moves my arms slightly, and I shiver a little from his touch. His hands are colder than my body. Then Tobias leaves and moves on to the next initiate. I keep punching the bag.

When he dismisses us for dinner, I find myself face to face with a transfer who is holding a roll of bandages. A boy.

"Do you want these? For your hands, I mean," He asks. He has caramel colored hair, just slightly lighter than a normal chocolate brown color, like my hair. His eyes are the same color as my hair, darker than my green eyes. Not bad looking.

 _What the heck, Ella!_ I think to myself. _You're not supposed to notice that a guy is hot. You have more important things to worry about._

He offers me the gauze, and I take it from his outstretched hand. "Thanks," I say.

"Anytime. Oh, also, my name is Avery." He offers me his hand.

I shake it and try to not make it look awkward. "Ella," I say.

"I know. First jumper," He replies. I smile shyly. I begin unwrapping the bandage and I place it over my left knuckles first, as I am right handed. I finished with the left hand, and Avery comes back with another roll of gauze.

"Thanks," I repeat.

"No problem," he responds, and sees that my fingers are fumbling slightly to start the wrapping process over my right hand. He takes the edge of the bandage from me and wraps it around my swollen knuckles. I try not to blush.

Once he is finished, He grabs some tape and tapes both of the ends of the bandages closed on both hands.

"Thank you," I say again.

"Don't worry about it," Avery smirks. "I just want to make sure that you don't hurt yourself too badly. Anyway, we should probably head over to the dining hall for dinner."

"Yeah," I say, and together we walk out of the training room and down the hallway.

 **PAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKYPAGEBREAKY**

The next couple days go by in a blur.

Tobias continues to push us to the breaking point as we start to fight each other. I haven't lost a fight yet, but I've come close to losing once. An Erudite transfer, Jackson, almost knocked me out, but I kicked him in between his legs and then kneed him in the head.

After every fight, I would run to my brother's room, and either Tobias or Tris would come in and comfort me until I was okay again. I kind of go into a daze when I'm fighting someone, and afterwards when I realize what I've done, all of my memories of abuse come rushing back, and I feel sick with myself. Tris is usually the one who convinced me that I am not like Marcus, that I will never be like him.

My relationship with Tris is interesting. Even though she is two years older than me, we are the same height so that when we talk she looks me straight in the eyes, bluish-grey to greenish-brown. She wants to protect me, but at the same time she believes in my strength.

Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but sometimes I feel like he still thinks that I am the scared, wounded, little girl from Abnegation. I may be wounded, but I am not scared anymore.

In a way, Tris is like the older sister that I never had. I am beginning to trust her, even though the progress may be slow; I can tell her things that may be awkward to talk to Tobias about. For example, she was the first to know about Avery.

During initiation so far, Avery and I have become friends, maybe because we are both the odd ones out as he was from Amity. I'm pretty sure that nobody knows who I really am yet, but I'm not sure how long it'll be until someone finds out.

It's nice having a friend. I'm slowly learning to trust others, beginning with Tris and Avery. It's funny how everything can change so suddenly in a matter of day, good and bad.

Speaking of bad, there are these two kids in our initiation class that basically think they rule over everything and everyone. Their names are Isabelle and Jackson, and they're twins. Double trouble.

Jackson was the one who I almost lost a fight to. The only fight that was evenly matched. I haven't fought Isabelle yet, but I suspect that I will be soon. I do my best to stay out of their way.

The only thing that I am not happy about is the sleeping situation. Sleeping in a room with other people isn't something that I am accustomed to. Well, unless you count the times when Tobias and I slept together after a beating, and that was only because we were younger and we needed comfort.

Soon we will start the second stage of initiation. I am nervous, as Tobias said that the second stage was mental. He and Tris reassured me that I would be fine, and they would both protect me as they are the only two people who know about my Divergence.

I am especially scared that someone other than Tobias or Tris will find out what I am. Divergent. And Tris told me what the people who found out about be would do.

I would be murdered.

The price is death.

A/N: So sorry that I haven't updated and for returning with a really short chapter. I have been stressed out from school, and I haven't had a lot of motivation to write. Blue and I have been focusing on TSG, and we would really appreciate if you left a review on our other story and told us what you like, what you would change, and plot suggestions. Anything is appreciated, but don't be rude. Constructive criticism is allowed.

Thank you to everyone who is following/favoriting this story! And for all of the reviews! It means so much.

Special thanks to TJMac86, katara4494, leek812, pr1nce77, rose1112, Guest (you know who you are), and Maya (you know who you are, too).

Thanks again,

~Faith :)


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